At just 21 years old, Jenna Ortega is already a household name thanks to the hit Netflix series Wednesday, where she portrays the reserved yet assertive titular character born from the mind of Charles Addams. Wednesday is, in many ways, a contradiction of herself, but that hasn’t stopped millions of people from falling in love with her as we eagerly await the premiere of Season 2, which is expected to drop next year. Before that, however, Ortega is opening up about why she thinks that the role that catapulted her to superstardom has resonated with so many people.
Sitting down with Vanity Fair for an in-depth profile, Ortega – who is set to star as Astrid Deetz in the upcoming Beetlejuice Beetlejuice – spoke on a number of topics, not the least of which was Wednesday Addams. When it comes to why the character seems to have touched a nerve with so many people, Ortega believes it’s for a number of reasons. Wednesday, she says, is a projection of ourselves, and possesses qualities that perhaps many of us wish we had.
“The intelligence and wit and confidence that Wednesday has, I think a lot of us wish that we possessed in ourselves. When you’re trying to create yourself and you’re taking all these bits and pieces from other people’s personalities and creating your own broken mirror… I think that’s the beauty of Wednesday. She is inspiring because she’s somebody who doesn’t care what anybody else thinks.”
Wednesday
Follows Wednesday Addams’ years as a student, when she attempts to master her emerging psychic ability, thwart and solve the mystery that embroiled her parents. Directed by Tim Burton.
- Release Date
- November 23, 2022
- Seasons
- 1
We should all be so lucky, but it’s those traits that only seem to exist in fiction that have resonated with so many people, despite Wednesday’s penchant for the macabre. Sure, she may be a little creepy and kooky, mysterious and spooky, but when it comes right down to it, Wednesday is all of us. She’s just trying to find her place in the world and figure things out, and that’s something that we can easily relate to. As Ortega puts it:
Who could have anticipated that someone as dark and twisted and sarcastic as Wednesday could bring out such joy?
What Can We Expect In Season 2 of Wednesday?
There’s no denying that the first season of Wednesday was a massive hit. Hell, a month after its release, the show had already racked up 1 billion viewing hours across 150 million households. The number seems almost incomprehensible, but yet while many praised the show and Ortega’s performance, it was not without its detractors, including the star herself. Things like the love triangle between Wednesday, Tyler, and Xavier made no sense, and was out of place in the otherwise whodunit caper with a supernatural twist.
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For Season 2, which is expected to wrap filming later this month, Ortega notes that the series will lean into its horror roots a lot more. She cites Poe’s classic tale, The Mask of the Red Death, as an example of what audiences can look forward to, but at the same time, she also knows who her audience is. Horror doesn’t necessarily mean gory in this case.
“I think the feel that we’re going for is a little bit more horror-inspired. Not to say that suddenly we’re the goriest show of all time. I mean, there’s six-year-olds watching. We’re doing this thing now where Wednesday just kind of
appears.
She is a little bit of a jump scare herself.”
It sounds like Ortega has a good grasp of where the ship is sailing, and that’s good news for all of us Wednesday fans who can’t wait for the series to return in 2025. We’ll have more news on the upcoming season as it becomes available.